


bathed in starlight

by orphan_account



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Bathing, Body Image, Fluff, Hair Washing, Multi, Warmage Caleb, backstory speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 10:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14259006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Caleb takes advantage of the brooke by their campsite to bathe. Fjord and Mollymauk join him, and help one another get cleaned up.





	bathed in starlight

**Author's Note:**

> Caleb and Mollymauk are both trans in this fic. It's worth noting none of the body image mentions have to do with dysphoria, in case that was a concern!

With a quick gesture, Caleb summoned a small ball of light, motioning it just off the side of the brooke. The light was just enough to let him not stumble through the darkness but hopefully not enough for the others to see much of him if they looked over. Rationally, he knew the group wouldn’t pay him much mind, but the back of his mind nagged at him, regardless

There had been a time when he had loved his body; that was years ago, though, when Caleb still thought that he was going to be someone. He remembered how he would preen himself in the mirror before a dinner, robed in his formal military wear which seemed to compliment his body perfectly. Though Caleb had to keep himself clean-shaven for the most part back then, he was so proud when he had started to grow facial hair; he used to obsess over the sensation of it under his fingers every morning for a long, long while.

Then the war got worse, more involved, and Caleb regressed into himself. Eventually he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror anymore - all he saw was a monster, one who took and burned and conquered and killed. He couldn’t even stand the sight of his own hands, especially when they were covered in the soot of a Fire Bolt, and he grew to despise the sound of his voice. One day Caleb had fled his post and hoped he would get better, though his problems ran with him. 

Caleb hated himself but he was trying to learn to love himself again - it was slow going, but progress was still progress. Caleb had a family to care about now and decided he had to at least try to care for himself, too. His partners definitely helped start him on that path. Fjord and Mollymauk were so patient with him, frequently giving him reassurances and praises. It wasn’t easy for Caleb to accept compliments, but he was getting better.

Caleb blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. He stripped out of his clothes, throwing them haphazardly on the bank before making his way into the stream, settling against a downed tree, water lapping just below his chest. He relaxed, shutting his eyes and simply soaked for bit, relishing the feeling of water against his skin. Caleb sat like that for a while before the quiet was interrupted by the sound of crunching pebbles and his eyes snapped open, jumping slightly at the sound. He let out a sigh after realising it was simply Fjord.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Caleb, sorry.” Fjord crouched down by the stream, starting to fill up some of the party’s waterskins. “Thought I was being sneaky enough to not bug you.”

“You’ve never been very sneaky, I don’t know what you were thinking.” Caleb chuckled and Fjord did too, his form carefully illuminated by the dancing lights. “It’s alright though, really.”

Fjord returned to his task and Caleb splashed water on his own face, starting to scrub at his beard. After a minute or two, Fjord stood up, waterskins in hand and started to walk off but stopped himself, turning a bit to face Caleb.

“Did you, ah - want help with anything?” Fjord paused and his expression shifted to slight embarrassment at the implication before explaining himself. “Uh. I mean. Help washing up.”

Caleb’s lips quirked up in a small smile. Fjord was a good talker, but sometimes he would stumble on his words - especially when trying to be affectionate - and it was unbelievably endearing to Caleb.

“Some company would be very nice.” Caleb paused for a second, splashing more water over his chest. “If you would like Mollymauk to join us, too, I would not be against that either.”

“Alright, yeah, I’ll let him know.” Fjord gestured vaguely with the waterskins in his hands. “I’ll … be back in a minute.”

Caleb nodded and his eyes followed Fjord as he walked off to the camp. He could vaguely see Molly’s shape illuminated by the campfire, gesturing exaggeratedly to Jester beside him, surely spinning a wild story or some card reading. Fjord got Molly’s attention as he entered the camp, exchanging some indistinguishable words before Mollymauk’s form gave a nod and leaned up to kiss Fjord.

Several minutes passed and Fjord soon made his way back to the bank.

“Molly’s gonna join us in a minute.” Fjord stated as he started to work off his breastplate. “He’s tellin’ some Carnival story to everybody. Don’t know how much of it’s true, though.”

Caleb chuckled softly. “Excellent.”

Fjord worked off the rest of his garments quickly, almost a bit shy, throwing his armor and clothes off in a pile near Caleb’s things. He almost tripped while he was stripping off his pants and Caleb heard Fjord curse under his breath, which earned a small smile from the wizard. Fjord grabbed a waterskin and a bottle from his things and quickly made his way into the brooke towards Caleb.

“C’mon, now, scooch a bit,” Fjord said as he reached Caleb, poking him lightly with his foot. “I’m gonna wash your hair first.”

Caleb hummed an acknowledgment and shifted away from the tree to give his partner space to sit. Fjord set his things on the log before settling down, one leg crooked in front of him, the other straightened out. Caleb felt Fjord’s claws lightly trace up his spine and he shivered at the sensation. One arm loosely wrapped his waist as Fjord pressed several kisses to his shoulder blade, a thumb now tracing aimlessly at his lower back. Fjord was always so incredibly gentle and it made Caleb’s heart flutter in his chest. 

“You’re so beautiful.” Fjord’s voice was muffled as he nuzzled into the crook of Caleb’s neck. “Absolutely _gorgeous.”_

A slight blush rose in Caleb’s cheeks and he just leaned into his partner, unable to summon any words. He moved his hand to cover Fjord’s, thumb brushing back and forth over his knuckles and Fjord reacted similarly, thumb skating across Caleb’s stomach, humming softly into his neck. They remained like this for some time before Fjord pulled away, but not until after he planted a strong kiss onto Caleb’s cheek. The wizard whined softly at the loss of the comforting pressure and warmth provided by Fjord.

He shifted behind Caleb for a moment, grabbing the waterskin from the log before moving his free hand under the other’s chin, tilting Caleb’s head back slightly. Fjord moved his hand to rest just in front of Caleb’s hairline to avoid any unwanted water splashing in face and upended the waterskin onto his hair. Fjord repeated this a few times until Caleb’s hair was thoroughly soaked, and at this time, Mollymauk approached. He waved his fingers and flashed a smile in greeting, the light glinting off some of his rings.

“Hello, my doves!” Molly said, already peeling off his shirt. “I heard Fjord was going to spoil you and I couldn’t let him take all the glory.”

“What a world we live in where your partner washing monster blood out of your hair is spoiling them.” Caleb snorted.

Fjord snickered too, gently working some knots out of the wizard’s hair with his fingers. “Truly the height of romance.”

“Listen, I can think of many other ways to spoil you two, but, perhaps not less than a hundred feet away from camp in the middle of a brooke.” Molly threw his shirt aside and started working on his belt. “Bathing with my two favorite boys is just as lovely.”

“It is very nice, yes.” Caleb nodded with a soft smile.

Caleb soon caught himself staring at Mollymauk as he continued to strip down, enamoured with how he always carried himself so confidently. Caleb remembered when there was a time where he didn’t like the tiefling’s near arrogance - perhaps because it reminded Caleb somewhat of his old self - but now he admired Molly for it. He could hold an entire room of people on his own, just with his words and his presence, and to Caleb, that was incredible.

Molly finished disrobing and set his clothes aside in a neater fashion than Fjord and Caleb did. He stretched his body exaggeratedly, raising his hands to meet far above his head and bridging his fingers together, arching his back as he rose up on his toes. The light caught the gold jewelry across Mollymauk’s form, sparks glinting from his hips, navel, collarbones, face, and horns. He made eye contact with Caleb for a brief second, flashing a smile, and the wizard averted his gaze, sheepish (looking someone in the eyes was still a hard thing to do, even if it was one of his partners). The tiefling said nothing about the look and entered the stream.

Mollymauk flicked his tail across the water’s surface as he walked past Caleb, playfully splashing water at him. Caleb scrunched his face and flinched a bit, reaching out and flicking water back at him.

“You dick.”

“Don’t have one, darling,” Molly said casually, smiling and bending down to kiss Caleb, leaning over afterwards to give Fjord one as well. “Oh, that smells nice.”

He must have meant the ointment; Caleb could smell it, too, as Fjord spreaded it into his palms. It was a bit strong for Caleb’s taste but he didn’t really mind. 

“Yeah, sure does.” Fjord agreed, hands beginning to work through Caleb’s hair. “There’s plenty of this stuff left. I can wash you up after Caleb, if you want.”

Mollymauk lowered himself adjacent to the two men and began to scrub at his body. “That sounds excellent, thank you.”

Fjord’s hands still worked across Caleb’s scalp, massaging the ointment into his hair with a gentle touch. Mollymauk and Fjord continued to chat, though Caleb decided to be more of a listener than a participant to the conversation, as the sound of his partners’ voices were almost as pleasant as the fingers running through his hair. Caleb slid his eyes shut and his shoulders relaxed, letting himself melt under the warlock’s touch, pleased sighs escaping every now and then. Caleb felt Fjord’s thumbs massage at the base of his skull and he hummed happily to himself. 

Fjord chuckled softly, the sound apparently not going unnoticed. “That feel nice?”

“Really nice, _ja.”_

“Good, good.” Fjord murmured and pressed a feather-light kiss onto Caleb’s shoulder. 

After a few more moments, Fjord ceased his ministrations and reached his hand around to tilt Caleb’s head back. He filled the waterskin again before pouring it out over Caleb’s hair, once again careful to not let water pour onto his partner’s face. Fjord repeated the process several times until he was satisfied that Caleb’s hair was sufficiently washed. He set the waterskin on the downed tree behind himself before returning his attention to Caleb, rubbing a hand up and down his back.

“There you go, buttercup, all clean.”

Caleb twisted around to face Fjord, now crouching in front of him. He placed one hand on Fjord’s chest, the other cupping his jaw, thumb carefully tracing his cheek. Fjord settled his hands on Caleb’s waist.

“That was very relaxing, thank you.” Caleb leaned in to kiss Fjord. “Love you.” 

There was a brief pause, a slight blush rising in the warlock’s cheeks. _“Ich liebe dich auch.”_

It was choppy and the pronunciation off, but Caleb was ecstatic regardless, smiling and kissing the other excitedly. It was no surprise that Fjord and Mollymauk started to pick up bits and pieces of Zemnian, considering he slipped into it with some frequency, especially when he was around those he was comfortable with. Though rare, sometimes his partners would say a phrase back to Caleb in Zemnian and it warmed his heart to the core every time. 

_“Das war sehr gut!”_ Caleb smiled again. “Very good.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” Caleb hummed approvingly. “It makes me happy when you and Molly speak Zemnian. It is nice.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind, then.” Fjord smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead. 

Caleb thanked Fjord one more time, giving him a quick hug before Caleb raised himself out of Fjord’s lap to settle down on the other side of Mollymauk, but not before leaning down to press a soft kiss to his forehead. After being beckoned over, the tiefling settled down in front of Fjord, legs crossed. Molly placed a hand on Fjord’s knee, gently thumbing the spot, and loosely wrapped his tail around Fjord’s extended leg. Fjord traced a certain pattern on Molly’s shoulder blade, admiring the beautiful swirls of ink than spanned across his back and shoulders. Fjord kissed a few spots up Molly’s back before stopping, brow furrowing as he looked at Molly’s side.

“You got a huge bruise here, hon.” Fjord gingerly touched the area around the mark, which Caleb could only vaguely make out, squinting.

“Oh, that one?” Mollymauk twisted himself to look. “Ah, yes, that was from today, when that bastard threw me against the wall. It’s alright, though.”

“Hm.” Fjord chewed on his lip, still inspecting the injury. “You sure you didn’t break a rib or anything?”

“Perhaps earlier, but Jester’s magic seemed to do the trick.” He patted Fjord’s knee in reassurance. “I’m really okay, though, don’t worry about me. I get hurt all the time.”

“That may be true, but you are our partner, so,” Caleb chimed in. “We are going to worry regardless.”

“That’s right.” Fjord nodded, rubbing a hand on Molly’s shoulder. “You fuss over us when we’re hurt, so let us return the favor every now and again, okay?”

“Yes, yes, I suppose that’s only fair.” Molly kissed Fjord and gave Caleb a soft smile. “I love you two very much.”

The two shared their _‘I love you too’_ s before Fjord returned his attention back to washing Molly. It took a bit more maneuvering to soak his hair than Caleb’s, as Fjord had to work around his horns, but Mollymauk didn’t seem to mind. Soon Fjord was working the ointment into the Molly’s locks and he began to relax, eyes sliding shut and tail swaying gently back and forth.

Caleb settled himself a little more comfortably against the tree, submerging himself slightly more into the water. He was relaxed from Fjord’s touch and his partners’ words and their gentleness and he was starting to feel pleasantly tired. This whole experience was nice, he decided, a warmth blooming in his chest as he looked over at Molly and Fjord. For a moment Caleb’s thoughts tried to remind him _you do not deserve this, you do not deserve them or their kindness_ in the silence, but he pushed it out of his mind for now. He was happy and nothing could ruin this.

Minutes later, Fjord started to pour the waterskin out over Molly’s hair. He repeated this a few times, trying his best not to get his jewelry tangled up, and once satisfied, he fussed with his partner’s hair for a few moments, trying to return it to the way Molly usually had it styled. Fjord rested a hand on Molly’s hip before resting his head on the tiefling’s shoulder.

“All set.” 

“That was superb.” Molly leaned in to Fjord, trying his best to press a kiss into his boyfriend’s hair. 

They sat like for a moment a moment before Molly shifted in his spot and stood up once Fjord released him. “Alright, my love, your turn. Stay put.”

“Oh, you don’t have to -” Fjord started but Molly hushed him.

“I would like to, darling, unless you genuinely don’t want me to, then I will not. But,” Molly’s tail swished gently behind him. “Fussing over each other, remember?”

“Okay.” Fjord nodded at that, smiling softly up at the other. “That’d be very kind of you, then.” 

“Excellent!” 

Mollymauk ruffled his boyfriend’s hair before climbing up on to the log, presumably because it would be easier at this vantage point, considering Fjord’s height. He balanced himself carefully, sitting on his calves, and placed the waterskin and bottle of ointment beside him. Molly reached out to rub Fjord’s shoulders for a short moment before moving a hand to scratch comfortingly up the back of his neck and into the the buzzed part of his hair. Caleb didn’t have to see Fjord generously lean into Molly or hear his pleased hum to know Fjord was delighted at the touch, both Caleb and Molly knowing well that the warlock loved for his hair to be petted.

Molly hummed a tune as he worked through Fjord’s hair, quickly wetting it and beginning to work the ointment in. It didn’t take very long to sufficiently lather his hair, but Molly seemed to indulge him a bit longer, knowing how much Fjord appreciated the ministrations. Soon he refilled the waterskin, having to lean over a bit awkwardly as he did so, before pouring it out over Fjord. Molly tousled his hair before carefully slipping himself off from his perch on the tree, settling between Caleb and Fjord.

Fjord rested his hand on Molly’s knee and Caleb slid closer to the tiefling, kissing him after getting his attention, and he looked at Caleb with a fondness that made his heart ache. Molly shifted and wrapped an arm around Caleb, pulling him in closer, Caleb taking the opportunity to rest his head on Molly’s shoulder and settled an arm around his waist. Mollymauk was always pleasantly warm and he had to fight the urge not to fall asleep right here, especially when Molly started rub circles into Caleb’s back. 

“Feeling okay, Caleb?” Molly asked, voice gentle. “You’ve been quiet.”

“Mhm. Just sleepy.”

“I see.” Molly pressed a kiss into Caleb’s hair. “You get very cuddly when you’re tired, I should have guessed.”

Caleb just groaned in response and the other two laughed. 

“He’s right, you know.” Fjord said. “It’s very cute.”

“Nope, no idea what you two are talking about.” Caleb buried his face into Molly’s shoulder, a blush rising in his cheeks. 

“See, now you’re just proving my point, love.” Molly squeezed the wizard’s shoulder. “Let’s all get dried off, yeah? And then sleep.” 

Everyone agreed on the proposal and did just that, eventually getting dressed and making their way back to camp. Caleb tied his hair back to keep the wet hair out of his face and eventually curled up on his bedroll; Molly and Fjord decided to stay up, Fjord knowing he had to take first watch soon, but Molly decided to sit with Caleb still, allowing him to rest his head on his lap. At some point Nott came over, whispering a ‘good night’ to her friend before curling beside him. It didn’t take Caleb very long to fall asleep, and when he did, he slept phenomenally.

**Author's Note:**

> Thought the Fjord/Mollymauk/Caleb tag needed some more fluff so I tried my best. I love writing these three and I just want them all to be happy & take care of one another. Apologies if the German is a bit off.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
